Public policy
Hoofdstuk 1: government and policy
Mogelijke examenvraag: neem een soort policy naar keuze en geef mij dit. Dit dit
..etc =>Mindmap maken van elke hoofdstuk!
Why public administration research ?
1. To understand
a. We are driven by puzzles. We want to understand the realities of
government, policy, strategy and governance.
i. Why does the world look like this?
ii. Why do people and organizations in the public sector do what
they do?
iii. Why do certain events happen, and how?
iv. How can we forecast future scenarios?
2. To improve
a. When we solve parts of these puzzles, we try to make things better.
This is by:
i. Making recommendations to Public sector and government on
to improve the “way” they do things.
ii. Sharing better understandings of how things work with
people (i.e., learners, government employees, politicians,
etc.).
What is public policy? ( ex vraag: who makes policy?) (what is?)
• 'A public policy is a targeted action by an actor or a group of actors in
tackling a problem or a concern of the population. Such a public policy is
developed by numerous government organizations and politicians.' –
Anderson (1984)
• 'Public policy is how politicians make a difference. Politicians are the
elected decision-makers with formal authority for complex subsystems of
participants and players. Policy is the instrument of governance, the
decisions that steer public funds in one direction but not in the other. It is
the outcome of a battle between ideas, interests and ideologies that drives
our political system.’ - Bridgman & Davis (2004
,What is policy making ?
• Choosing what to do or not to
do
• Targeted action Anderson
Types of public policy
, More policy types
• Competitive policy: restricts access to the provision of certain goods or
services. Imposes conditions that the facilities must meet.
• Protective policy: is intended to protect citizens by establishing the
conditions under which private activities may be provided and non-
compliance with them sanctioned.
• Self-regulating policy: corresponds to protective policy, although the
initiative is taken by the providers themselves.
• Exploratory policy: indicating new schools of thought with the intention
of mobilizing parties to think along about the desired development and the
necessary changes
• Facilitating policy: supporting certain objectives deemed desirable
without imposing them in a binding manner.
• Stimulating policy: stimulating people or organisations to show a certain
desirable behaviour
Why does government pursue policy ?
• To address a problem or a concern of the population (Anderson, 1984).
• To make a difference in the struggle between ideas, interests and
ideologies that drive our political system (Bridgman & Davis, 2004).
• Often aimed at changing the behaviour of the target group in the interest
of the end beneficiaries... as a solution to a problem politically defined as
collective in nature (Knoepfel et al. 2011)
Problems ?
• A problem can be defined as a gap between desirable situation and
perceived condition (Hoornbeek & Peters, 2017).
• Does everyone see the same problems/gaps?
• There are always battles between problems and solutions If so, how does
that gap look like?
Who is involved ?
• The government (Dye, 1972)
• Government organisations, politicians (Andersson, 1984)
• Politicians as elected decision-makers with formal authority, participants
and players (Bridgman & Davis, 2004).
• Various public and sometimes private actors, social groups that are
supposed to be at the root, or capable of solving, the problem to be
tackled (target group); social groups that experience the negative impact
of that problem or end-beneficiaries (Knoepfel et al., 2011).
• Government as (potential) central actor in public policy Authority to
represent collective needs/ambitions.
• Certainly not in isolation, many others involved people in the street,
private companies, non-profit sector, academia, political parties.
• Who is the government? Minister, parliamentarians, public administration
entities, networks and institutions
Hoofdstuk 1: government and policy
Mogelijke examenvraag: neem een soort policy naar keuze en geef mij dit. Dit dit
..etc =>Mindmap maken van elke hoofdstuk!
Why public administration research ?
1. To understand
a. We are driven by puzzles. We want to understand the realities of
government, policy, strategy and governance.
i. Why does the world look like this?
ii. Why do people and organizations in the public sector do what
they do?
iii. Why do certain events happen, and how?
iv. How can we forecast future scenarios?
2. To improve
a. When we solve parts of these puzzles, we try to make things better.
This is by:
i. Making recommendations to Public sector and government on
to improve the “way” they do things.
ii. Sharing better understandings of how things work with
people (i.e., learners, government employees, politicians,
etc.).
What is public policy? ( ex vraag: who makes policy?) (what is?)
• 'A public policy is a targeted action by an actor or a group of actors in
tackling a problem or a concern of the population. Such a public policy is
developed by numerous government organizations and politicians.' –
Anderson (1984)
• 'Public policy is how politicians make a difference. Politicians are the
elected decision-makers with formal authority for complex subsystems of
participants and players. Policy is the instrument of governance, the
decisions that steer public funds in one direction but not in the other. It is
the outcome of a battle between ideas, interests and ideologies that drives
our political system.’ - Bridgman & Davis (2004
,What is policy making ?
• Choosing what to do or not to
do
• Targeted action Anderson
Types of public policy
, More policy types
• Competitive policy: restricts access to the provision of certain goods or
services. Imposes conditions that the facilities must meet.
• Protective policy: is intended to protect citizens by establishing the
conditions under which private activities may be provided and non-
compliance with them sanctioned.
• Self-regulating policy: corresponds to protective policy, although the
initiative is taken by the providers themselves.
• Exploratory policy: indicating new schools of thought with the intention
of mobilizing parties to think along about the desired development and the
necessary changes
• Facilitating policy: supporting certain objectives deemed desirable
without imposing them in a binding manner.
• Stimulating policy: stimulating people or organisations to show a certain
desirable behaviour
Why does government pursue policy ?
• To address a problem or a concern of the population (Anderson, 1984).
• To make a difference in the struggle between ideas, interests and
ideologies that drive our political system (Bridgman & Davis, 2004).
• Often aimed at changing the behaviour of the target group in the interest
of the end beneficiaries... as a solution to a problem politically defined as
collective in nature (Knoepfel et al. 2011)
Problems ?
• A problem can be defined as a gap between desirable situation and
perceived condition (Hoornbeek & Peters, 2017).
• Does everyone see the same problems/gaps?
• There are always battles between problems and solutions If so, how does
that gap look like?
Who is involved ?
• The government (Dye, 1972)
• Government organisations, politicians (Andersson, 1984)
• Politicians as elected decision-makers with formal authority, participants
and players (Bridgman & Davis, 2004).
• Various public and sometimes private actors, social groups that are
supposed to be at the root, or capable of solving, the problem to be
tackled (target group); social groups that experience the negative impact
of that problem or end-beneficiaries (Knoepfel et al., 2011).
• Government as (potential) central actor in public policy Authority to
represent collective needs/ambitions.
• Certainly not in isolation, many others involved people in the street,
private companies, non-profit sector, academia, political parties.
• Who is the government? Minister, parliamentarians, public administration
entities, networks and institutions
